Madison Academy 'Group 2' goes to Ghana (Mission Report)

Taylor Amerson, a rising senior at Madison Academy, holds Antoinette, 1, who lives at the Eugemot Orphanage in Ghana, which also houses the Peggy Good School of Hope. Amerson and other students and staff of Madison Academy traveled to the orphanage to work in May. (Courtesy of Taylor Amerson)

By Taylor AmersonMadison Academy senior

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Your name: Group 2 from Madison Academy. The reason we are called Group 2 is because God is First in our Mission.

When: May 21 to May 30, 2012, and we planned for many months ahead to get ready for our trip to Ghana - to the same orphanage and school where Peggy Good had worked the year she was stricken with a fatal malaria.

The Peggy Good School of Hope there is named for her.

Work: Our group mission in Ghana was to make bricks for Eugemot Orphanage, provide medical assistance, teach at the Peggy Good School of Hope, and have devotional services with people in the village. We were able to do all that we set out to do and then some.

My personal mission was to do my best and do it with all the love I could give to those children, because they deserve it.

Inspiration: I realized I was called to go on this mission in chapel when Coach Andy Blackston led chapel and asked us some really heartfelt questions. I was very hesitant because I knew the trip was expensive, and my mother had been off work for two years.

I shared this with Coach Blackston, and his words to me were: If you feel the Lord wants you to go, the money will come.

How the money was raised: My church, Progressive Union Missionary Baptist Church, 1917 Brandontown Road N.W. in Huntsville, was my biggest supporter, along with lots of support from my parents, family members and friends.

https://blog.advance.net/cgi-bin/mte/mt.cgi?__mode=view&_type=entry&id=8793186&blog_id=3560&saved_changes=1Taylor Amerson, a rising senior at Madison Academy, seated at right in the blue skirt, helps lead a class at the Eugemot Orphanage in Ghana, which also houses the Peggy Good School of Hope. Amerson and other students and staff of Madison Academy traveled to the orphanage to work in May. Beside Amerson is Antoinette, 1, who followed Amerson everywhere she went during their week-long mission. (Courtesy of Taylor Amerson)

Strongest memory: A little girl named Antoinette, who was only 1. She has two other sisters in the orphanage as well.

We connected the first time we met and were inseparable the entire time. She did everything I did, from pretending to wipe sweat from her forehead to carrying the water bottle with her tiny hands.

I was instantly connected to her by her name alone. Her name is the same as my mother's middle name. "Antoinette" means worthy of praise. She has eyes just like my sister, Sydney.

When we were preparing to leave and say our good-bye's, I was holding her. As I began to put her down to leave, she said "Mello mama," which means, "I love you deeply, mother."

I could not stop the tears. I knew my mission was complete when she told me she loved me.

That's why I went over to Ghana: to meet her and others to share the love that I have been raised with from my parents.

Advice for other groups: Be prepared for your life to change.

When we decide to go on a mission trip, we thought we are headed over to just make a difference in other people's lives. It is true we tried to do that, but your life is changed even more.

Students and staff from Madison Academy enjoy a cool break at a scenic waterfall near the Eugemot Orphanage in Ghana, which also houses the Peggy Good School of Hope. The group traveled to the orphanage to work in May. (Courtesy of Taylor Amerson)

What's next: The next project is to build a dormitory so that all the children can sleep comfortably at night, one for the boys and one for the girls.

Opportunity:Madison Academy goes to Ghana every year and works with the Eugemont Orphanage. The approximate trip cost is $2,500 per person, but it's possible for others to do that because I raised all of my money through donations. It is possible for other volunteers to go with the school group.

Donations: Also, the Eugemot Foundation, EugemotFoundation.org, is working to raise $18,000 by September to purchase a school bus for the beginning of the fall semester. The school had 95 students last year and expects to open with 150 this fall.

Inspire others by reporting your personal or congregational local and global mission work to our readers. Information: kay.campbell@htimes.com, 256-532-4320.